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Major triad 1-3-5-3-1

The basic broken chord.

mahmahmahmahmah
One repetition of the pattern. In the app it is transposed to your vocal range and scored note by note.

The major triad as a broken chord: root, major third, perfect fifth, back to the third, then a two-beat root. Five notes spanning a fifth. It is the smallest arpeggio in the app and the one every other arpeggio grows from, because the third and fifth are the two notes that define a major chord. The open 'mah' makes tuning easy to hear. Each repetition is a semitone higher, until you're near the top of your range, then the pattern comes back down the same way.

How to do it

  1. Listen to the piano outline the triad: up, up, down, down.
  2. Sing on 'mah', hearing the chord in your head before you start.
  3. Watch the two leaps on the roll; the fifth is the top bar and should read green.
  4. Each repetition moves up a semitone, until you're near the top of your range, then it works back down the same way.

Coach's tip: The fifth (5) often comes out flat – aim slightly higher.

What to watch out for

The fifth is the note that usually falls short. After leaping a major third and then a minor third, singers underestimate the second leap and land low. Aim slightly higher than you think. The third on the way back tends to be flat too, as the voice relaxes. Don't scoop into the leaps; the roll should show flat bars, not ramps. If the last few passes strain, lower the range.

Who it's for

A first arpeggio for beginners and a quick tune-up for anyone. Place it early in the main block, after 5-note scale. It leads directly into 1-3-5-8-5-3-1, which adds the octave, and into Minor triad for the darker version. Listed in the Intonation program, and worth keeping in every session.

Part of programs: Intonation

Practice this exercise

Opens the app in your browser. Free to start, no account needed. Put on headphones first.

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